Trail shoe assembly



A. P. BUQUOR TRAIL sHoE ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 2 3, 1945 July 3, 1945.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Jllly, 1945. A. P. BUQUOR 29379521 TRAIL SHOE AS SEMBLYFiled Aug. 23, 194s 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented July 3, 1945 TRAIL srroEASSEMBLY Adolph P. Buquor, Washington, D. C., assigner to Martin-ParryCorporation,

ration of Delaware York, Pa., a 'corpo- Application August 23, 1943,Serial No. 499,666

8 Claims.

`This invention relates to apparatus for preventing the digging in of atrail spade of an artillery vpiece or gun during firing thereof, and isprimarily intended to be employed When the recoil shock of the gunduring firing is absorbed by mechanism otherl than the spade or spadesof the gun trail.

The trail spade shoes of the present invention thus find their majorutility when employed in conjunction with ring platforms such asdisclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 499,665, led August23, 194,3. In such environments it is important :to prevent the recoilof :the gun from causing the spade of the trail to penetrate into 4theground, since preventing the trail from digging into the groundmaintains vertical alignment of the gun. Also, when the spade shoes ofthe present invention are employed it is unnecessary to withdraw thetrail spades from the ground in orderfto make a rapid large angletraverse of the gun carriage. No modification of the trail or spade of agun is required and the trail spades are left available for normal usewhen no firing platform is employed by merely removing the shoes.

f It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide adetachableshoe or platform for attachment tothe spade on the trail of a gun toprevent it from -digginginto the ground. f

Another object is to provide a shoe for the spade of a gun trail whichmay be left in position during ltransport of fthe gun..

A still further object of the invention is to provide a Shoe or bearingmember for the spadeof a gun trail which enables the gun trail to beeasily moved angularly about the center of the gun carriage.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will 4appear in thefollowing ydescription of preferred embodiments of the invention shownVin the attached drawings, of which Fig. l is a rear `elevation of ashoe for a trail spade shown attached to one of the spades of a splittrail gun;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the spade shoe of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of trail shoe; v

Fig. 4 is a plane View of the device of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the device of Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, fthe trail shoe I0 shown therein preferablycomprises a base member II of Wood or other light weight structurallystrong material having an attaching member I2 suitably secured to theupper surface thereof adjacent the center of the body portion by anysuitable attaching means such as screws I3. The attaching member carriesa front clamping member I4 suitably secured and braced upon the base vI1of the attaching member I2 by a bracing member I6. The base I1 mayextend-rearwardly and upwardly to form a rear clamping member I8provided with a plurality of screw threaded apertures I9 receivingclamping screws 2| shown in Fig. 2. The clamping members I4 and I8provide a slot 23 therebetween to receive the spade 24 of the gun trailand tightening of the clamping screws securely attaches the spade shoeto the spade. The body portion II of the spade shoe may also be providedwith spade centering members 26 suitably secured to the upper surface ofthe ends of the body portion II by any means, such as screws 21. Thecentering members 26 are provided with inner upturned flanges 28 whichare adapted to be` engaged by the inclined bottom edges of the spade 24tol guide the spade laterally into the slot 23 of the clamping member|6.

The body portion II of the shoe is preferably provided with upwardlycurved ends 29 to provide for easy movement of the shoe laterally of thegun trails so as to provide for rapid traversing of the gun. While onlyone spade shoe is shown in Figs. la and 2, it is to be understood thattwo will be provided for a split trail gun having another trail spade3|. For closing the trail, one of the shoes of the type shown in Figs. 1and 2 must be removed from a spade such as the spade 3| and in thisevent one of the guiding members 26 provides a support for the spade 3|when the trails are closed. y

The spade shoe of Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are however, of small enough lateralextent to provide for closing the trails (not shown) of a gun with ashoe attached to each spade. The shoe of Figs. 3 to 5 preferablycomprises a single metallic member 32 such as a casting or forging, butmay be obviously fabricated from separate pieces by welding, etc. Thebase. portion of the shoe is preferably made in convex form having ahollowed out portion 33 containing a front clamping portion 34 suitablybraced by a bracing portion 36 and a rear clampingportion 31 suitablybraced by a bracing portion 38. The two clamping portions 34 and 31provide av slot 39 therebetween for receiving the point of a spade 40.The rear clamping portion 31 is provided with a plurality of screwthreaded apertures 4I receiving clamp-A It will be noted that the pointof the spade the slot 38 is positioned very close to the surface y uppnwhich the spade shoe rests and inthis re'- spect the shoe of Figs. 3 to5 diers materiallyA v from the shoe of Figs. 1 and 2.k Also, the'shoeoff Figs. 3 to 5 enables closing, of the gun trails while the shoes arein position upon the spades so that the gun may be transported with theshoes'in position, but these shoesfhave been found yade-T`l` quate inarea to prevent substantial lowering of the gun trail during firing'.The advantage of having the tips ofthe gun trail adjacentv the ground isthat this enables the gun trails to be supportedin' substantiallyv thenormal ring position of the'g'u'n and does not'reduce the possibleelevation of the gun. f

lWhile 'I have disclosed the preferred embodimentsoi my invention, itisunderstood that the details thereof may be varied within' the scope ofthe following claims.l

l. `A device for preventing digging of the trail spade of an artillerygun trail into the ground' during firing of the gun, said devicecomprising a member providing a lower surface having a substantial areafor contact with the ground, said member having an upwardly directedslot in its upper portion for receiving the spade and means engagingthespade to releasably clamp said member to the gun trail.

2. A device for preventing digging of the trail spade or an artillerygun trail into the ground during ring of the gun, said device comprisinga member providing a lowersurface having a substantial area for contactwith the ground, said member lhaving a front clamping member'upon itsupper portion and a rear clamping member positioned adjacent said frontclampin-gvmember to provide a slot between said clampingI membersiorreceiving the spade of the traiL-and means carried by one of saidclamping members for releasably clamping the spade against said otherclamping member.

3. A device for preventing digging of the trail spade of an artillerygun trail into the ground during firing of the gun, said devicecomprising a member providing a lower surface having a substantial areafor contact with the ground', said member having an upwardly directedslot in its upper portion for receiving the spade and'means to securesaid member tothe gun trail, said member having laterally disposedguiding portionsat opposite sides of said slot for guiding the trailspade laterallymto said slot;

4. A device for preventing digging of the spade of an artillery guntrail into the ground during firing of the gun, said device comprising asupporting member providing a lower surface having a substantial areafor contact 4with the ground, said member having a front clamping memberupon its upper portion and a rear clamping member positioned adjacentsaid front clamping member to provide a slot between said clampingmembers for receiving the spade of the trail, and

means carried by one of said clamping members for clamping the spadeagainst said other clampingv member, said supporting member havinglatorally disposed guiding members at opposite sides ofsaid slot` forguiding the trail spade laterally into said-slot.

`5. A device for preventing substantial penetration' of the trail spadeof an artillery gun trail during the firing of the gun, which comprisesamember providing a lower surface having a substantial'area for contactwith the ground, said member having an upwardly extending slot for re`ceiving the trail, said slot extending substantially to the lowersurface of said member and means to clamp the spade in said slot;

6. Inadevice for preventing substantial penetration of the trail spadesof an artillery gun trail during the firing of the gun, which comprises,a member providing a lower surface having a substantial area for contactwith the ground, said member having an upwardly extending slot forreceiving the trail, said slot extending substantiallyfto the lowersurface of said member and means-to-clamp the spade in-said slot, saidmember having a plurality of laterally extending ribs on the lowersurface thereof.

"'7. In a device for preventing substantial penetration of the trailspades of an artillery gun trail during 'the i'lring of the gun, `whichcomprises, a substantially circular member providing a lower surfacehaving a substantial area for contact with the ground, said memberhaving an upwardly extending fslotf` for receiving-the trail, said slotextending-substantially'to the lower surface oi' the member and means toclamp said spade in said slot, saidmember4 having a plurality oflaterally extending ribson the lower surface thereof.

8;V A device for preventing substantialpenetration of the trail spade ofan'artillery gunitrail during the ring ofthe gun,` which comprises, amember providing a lower surface having a substantial area for contactwith the ground, said member having an upwardly extending slot forreceiving the trail', said slot also extending substantially: to thelowersurface of said member and meansr to clamp the spade in vsaiclslot, said member being substantially round in horizontal section andhaving alower surface approaching that of a` portion of'a sphere, saidmember haviriga plurality of laterally extending ribs on its lowersurface. L iiDOIiP'I-I P. BUQUOR.

